1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a portable appliance for heating towels and fluid such as body oil that commonly are used in concert with the administration of a massage. More particularly, the present invention relates to a portable electrical heating appliance that preferably utilizes a suitcase-like protective housing to facilitate transport and storage of the appliance, with the housing defining a relatively large main compartment for heating towels, and at least one relatively smaller auxiliary compartment within which the fluid contents of a dispensing container can be heated.
2. Prior Art
It is known to use heated towels together with heated fluid such as body oil in concert with the administration of a massage. However, proposals for apparatus to heat towels typically do not provide a means to heat fluids; and, proposals to heat fluids typically do not provide a means to heat towels.
To heat towels, a variety of electrically operated devices have been proposed, few of which are intended to be transported and stored with the convenience of a suitcase. Some of these proposals are intended for use in "dry" heating towels. Some are intended for "wet" heating towels. Some are said to be adaptable to effect either "dry" or "wet" heating. Most of these proposals relate to relatively complex units that are intended for salon or barber shop use, not for consumer use in a typical home environment.
To heat fluids, some heating devices have been proposed for insertion into fluid that is carried in a container such as a coffee cup or mug; and, some heating devices have been proposed that are intended to receive and warm containers of fluid, typically baby-feeding bottles. However, few of these proposals relate to portable units that are transportable with the ease of a suitcase, or that are intended not only to heat but also to transport and store dispenser-type containers of fluid. While some portable appliances have been proposed for heating and/or maintaining the elevated temperature of such consumable beverages as coffee, tea or hot chocolate, the devices that embody these proposals typically are found not to be well suited for use with dispenser-type containers of fluid such as body oil that are used in concert with the administration of a massage.
While the benefits of massage in relieving muscle aches and pains, and in relieving "tension," "stress" and the like are well known, a need long has existed for an easy-to-transport, easy-to-store, highly versatile kit-like unit that can be used at a bedside or elsewhere in the home to assist in providing properly heated towels, properly heated body oil and the like to facilitate the administration of a massage.